Despite all our smug assurance that we stand as a force for goodness in a naughty world, Canada certainly doesn't mind cuddling up to nasty despots. Consider the warm spot Pierre Trudeau and the Canadian media establishment has always had in their hearts for Caribbean thug Fidel Castro. Remember the recent outrage of Paul Martin and Pierre Pettigrew when, in the midst of their schmoozing with Chinese Communist bosses who currently hold 16 million imprisoned dissidents as slave labourers, a Conservative MP had the courage to pay his respects to the family of a Chinese politician who had tried to stop the Tiananmen Square massacre? Another little embarrassment today for Canada comes from Mark Steyn's column in the London Telegraph about the diplomatic isolation of Bashar al-Assad and the solitary voice (aside from Hezbollah) who thinks the Syrian presence in Lebanon is unobjectionable:
The point is Assad is suddenly the loneliest guy in the room. He's the eye doctor whose eye no one wants to catch. The only world leader who didn't get the memo was Paul Martin. Who? Well, OK, he's not exactly a world leader, but he is prime minister of Canada, and asked the other day about the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon he replied thus: "It's clear if the Syrians are in Lebanon, it's because peace has to be maintained." I'm sure Assad is grateful for the endorsement. That and a dime'll get you a cup of coffee in Winnipeg.
Tip to Paul Martin: the world has changed since the Marines rolled into Baghdad and free elections were held in Iraq. Just because the Liberal Party frowns on democracy in Canada doesn't mean that the rest of the world isn't willing to give it a try.
Posted by Dexter at March 7, 2005 09:57 PM